Ruth Chou Simons has written/woven together a stunning devotional book called Gracelaced: Discovering Timeless Truths Through Seasons of the Heart. It is exactly the kind of devotional book you would expect a person like me to love… it is filled with photography from her personal life, original watercolour artwork and calligraphy.
She takes her readers through the seasons of the year with pictures and lessons that line up accordingly. Towards the end of Spring she has an entry entitled, Everything. And it has seemed especially significant to me lately.
The book of Ephesians begins with a reminder of all we have received through unity with Christ. Chapter one lists “every spiritual blessing” and verses 3-14 are bookended with praise being directed to the Lord.
In her Everything chapter, Ruth mentions how nice it is to be able to cook a meal when everything is ready to go. No rummaging through pantries for ingredients or making a dash for the fridge while something doesn’t burn. As a recent recipient of some free meals from Chef’s Plate and HelloFresh, I completely understand this delight! Everything is just right there! Ready for me to cook up in gourmet fashion… it’s like connect-the-dots kitchen edition.
Moving into new seasons is an especially important time to return to Paul’s reminder. Since I’m going on about how great it is to have everything at our fingertips, I thought I’d make a quick point form list.
Every Spiritual Blessing
(Ephesians 1:3-14)
• Chosen to be holy and blameless in the sight of God
• Predestined, in love, for adoption into God’s family
• Glorious grace, given to us freely
• Redemption through the blood of Jesus
• Forgiveness of sins
• Wisdom and understanding
• Mystery of God’s will made clear through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
o God’s will = all things in heaven and on earth unified under Christ’s authority
• An inheritance of bringing praise to God
• Marked as God’s own by the Holy Spirit
o Holy Spirit = a deposit which guarantees our inheritance and belonging to God’s family
Seeing this list almost seems overwhelming to consider… It’s hard to understand what some of these things mean, let alone processing how they all are mine through Jesus?!
Seeing all of the ingredients for a meal sitting in a brown paper bag can also seem like a lot. What could arugula, ground beef and mayo possibly have to do with one another?!
Moving forward little by little, following the directions step by step, the everything in front of me begins to smell delicious and in less than an hour I am feasting on one of the tastiest burgers ever! And I made it?!
When we live in step with Jesus, when we follow the guidance of his Spirit within us, we will often be taken aback and pleasantly surprised by the fragrance of our lives.
God you are good and you are faithful!
May we never tire of learning these things more and more.
Whether or not they make sense to us yet, you have given us every spiritual blessing through your son Jesus, and we thank you for them!
Holy Spirit strengthen us as we press on and choose to keep receiving them.
Reveal to us what they mean for us individually and as a church family!
We love you so much and we give you praise for who you are and that we get to be part of your family together!
Amen.